This is a followup of our coverage about Gun Control Laws.
Sheriffs Sue over Colorado Gun Control: ‘This Is Our Alamo’
Posted on August 1, 2013 by Law News Clerk
The Colorado Sheriffs contention was that the gun control laws passed this year were unconstitutional because the laws were unenforceable.
Colorado Sheriffs Cannot Sue State Over Gun Control Laws As Elected Officials: Judge
A federal judge in Denver dismissed part of the lawsuit dozens of Colorado sheriffs filed against the state in May arguing that the gun control laws passed this year were unconstitutional.
In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger granted much of the state’s motion to dismiss the suit and said that the 55 Colorado sheriffs who were listed as plaintiffs had no legal standing in their official capacity.
“A political subdivision of a state may not sue its parent state under certain provisions of the United States Constitution,” Krieger wrote in the ruling. “If individual sheriffs wish to protect individual rights or interests they may do so. In the Second Amended Complaint, however, the Sheriffs have confused their individual rights and interests with those of the county sheriff’s office.”
The sheriffs, who represent the rural parts of Colorado’s 64 counties, will have until Dec. 11 to rejoin the lawsuit in their individual capacities.
Krieger’s ruling however does not stop the suit since there are 21 other plaintiffs — including individuals and gun groups — who do have legal standing, so the court still has to consider whether limiting ammunition magazines to 15 rounds and requiring universal background checks in Colorado is constitutional.
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